London Olympics: US wrestler Jordan Ernest Burroughs comes through with gold

LONDON — Jordan Burroughs had his eyes on the gold medal for months, and he let everyone know about his plans.

Then he delivered.

The 24-year-old American backed up all that talk at the London Games, beating Iran's Sadegh Saeed Goudarzi 1-0, 1-0 in the men's freestyle 74-kilogram division to give the U.S. its first wrestling gold medal in London.

Burroughs beat Denis Tsargush of Russia in a tight semifinal, then got past Goudarzi in a rematch of their world-championship bout in 2011.

Burroughs, who grew up in New Jersey, has won 38 straight international freestyle matches and is the first Olympian to claim the $250,000 prize from the Living the Dream Medal Fund, a program designed to support U.S. wrestling.

Dzhamal Otarsultanov took the men's 55-kg freestyle category, beating Vladimer Khinchegashvili of Georgia to give the Russians four wrestling golds at the London Games, tops for any nation.

Otarsultanov earned his first Olympic gold by downing the 21-year-old Khinchegashvili 1-0, 4-3.

Burroughs raised quite a few eyebrows when he made his Twitter handle (at)alliseeisgold.

He lived up to it with a brilliant run in London.

Burroughs won his first two matches to set up a rematch with Tsargush, a two-time world champion that the U.S. star beat in the 2011 world championships en route to the title.

It turned out to be the most gripping match of the Olympic tournament so far.

Burroughs owned the first period. But Tsargush scored on a takedown in the second and kept himself alive to set up a thrilling final frame.

Burroughs and Tsargush circled the mat cautiously for about 90 seconds before Burroughs — one of the quickest wrestlers in the world — launched himself at Tsargush's legs for a takedown.

Burroughs opened the scoring in the final when he notched a double-leg takedown of Goudarzi with just nine seconds left in the first period. He clinched the final with a similar move late in the second.

The gold-medal final between Otarsultanov and Khinchegashvili was also wild.

Otarsultanov, who beat Russian star Viktor Lebedev for his country's spot at 55 kgs, won the first period by scoring from offense on a tiebreaking clinch.

Otarsultanov tied it at 3 late in the second, and because he had scored the last point he was in position for victory when Khinchegashvili drove him to the mat as time expired.

Nothing was called — even as the Georgia camp insisted Khinchegashvili had exposed the Russian's back for two points.

The Georgian looked positively despondent on the medal stand, even though he had won a silver medal.

The gold that Burroughs won brought a deep sense of relief for the medal-starved Americans.

The U.S. entered Friday with just one medal; a bronze won by women's freestyler Clarissa Chun. Burroughs was by far the best hope the U.S. had for a gold, and the fear was that if he fell short the Americans would go home without one.